Celebrating Summer for 85 Years

     In 1929, a parade stepped off on the South Side that would still be inspiring kids all over Chicago 85 years later.  That parade was called the Bud Biliken Parade. To get the full story of who/what Bud Biliken is and why there is a parade about it, we must first go further back to 1923, when Richard Abbott(the founder of the Chicago Defender) was trying to brainstorm a children's character to include in his newspaper. At that moment, he was looking out the window when he saw a Biliken, which was a kind of talisman/good luck charm that was all the rage in the early years of the 20th Century. Inspiration struck, and he named his new character Bud Biliken.  Soon afterwards, Bud Biliken became the mascot of the Defender's youth club. Throughout the 20s and the 30s, the Biliken character appeared in the pages of the Chicago Defender, and became a symbol of hope and pride for black residents on the south side.

     In 1929, David Kellum(a fellow member of the Defender staff) decided to start a parade focusing on the Biliken character to celebrate the "unity in diversity for the children of Chicago." Over the course of many years the parade has also became known as the traditional marker denoting the waning days of summer and the impending return to school. Nowadays, the parade has become the second largest annual parade in the country, right behind the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In fact, the 2010 parade was viewed by more than 25 Million People. In addition, the parade is a popular place for politicians to drop by, including Richard M. Daley, Dick Durbin, Pat Quinn, and even Barack Obama himself(once when he was running for the Senate, and then twice more as a Senator). This year, the parade turned 85, and the celebrations were as festive as ever.  It remains a point of pride for South Siders, as well as a spirited celebration of summer for all Chicagoans.